Reduce levies on hybrids to push investments: Lexus

NEW DELHI: India should have “carbon-based taxation” for automakers against the present norm of technology-led incentives and should look at lower levies on relatively cleaner technologies such as hybrids to attract new investments, Lexus, the luxury car division of Japanese auto giant Toyota, has said.

Lexus, which has started to expand in India and is getting aggressive with its cars and SUVs that are predominantly hybrids, is seeking a taxation regime that rewards companies for getting products that generate smaller carbon footprint, thus reducing pollution in cities while helping the country reduce its fuel import bill through more fuel-efficient vehicles.

“Carbon-based taxation is the way forward. Hybrids generate less carbon than internal combustion engine vehicles (those running on petrol and diesel). In congested cities, hybrids are run more on electric power — that comes in through a battery — than the internal combustion engine,” Naveen Soni, president of Lexus India, told TOI.

Lexus currently sells six cars in India, priced upwards of Rs 60 lakh and going up to Rs 2. 8 crore (exshowroom, Delhi) and, except for one, all are hybrids.

The government had taken away incentives from hybrids a few years back as it rewarded pure electrics through a lower GST regime, which stands at 5%. Hybrids, which draw power from a large internal battery and also a petrol engine, are not accorded any special dispensation, attracting the same taxation as petrol vehicles (starting from 28% and going up to more than 50%).
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